Toyota in 2nd place in sales
Surpassing rivals in national shareClose to lead in British ColumbiaSep. 14, 2006. 07:12 AM
TONY VAN ALPHEN
BUSINESS REPORTER
Toyota has jumped into second place in retail vehicle sales across the country and is close to overtaking perennial industry leader General Motors in a province for the first time in Canadian automotive history.
Retail registrations, excluding fleet sales to corporate customers and daily rental companies, reveal Toyota quietly moved into second place nationally last year and is close to catching up to GM in British Columbia.
The R.L. Polk & Co. data, obtained by the Toronto Star, underscores the continuing strong shift away from the Big Three North American-based auto makers during the last five years, despite significant improvements in quality and reliability.
"The Big Three may have engineered better products but they haven't convinced consumers to come back to their models," said analyst Dennis DesRosiers, who tracks industry sales.
The retail data from Polk, an international auto consulting firm, shows market share for the Big Three has dropped almost seven percentage points to 46.7 per cent since 2002.
Toyota sped past Honda and Ford in 2003 and topped DaimlerChrysler last year in new vehicle registrations. Honda also passed DaimlerChrysler last year and is just behind Ford.
Analysts note new vehicle registrations are a more accurate reflection of market movement. GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler rely on bulk fleet sales far more than their Japanese, Korean and European rivals.
When fleet sales, which comprise almost 30 per cent of the overall market, are taken into account, GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler have maintained their respective top three positions in the Canadian market.
But Toyota and Honda have also made strong gains in overall sales and passed Ford or DaimlerChrysler in some provinces, according to DesRosiers, who declined comment on the Polk retail data.
Polk officials also would not discuss new vehicle registration data for the first half of the year.
In the Canadian retail market, GM's share has fallen to 23.9 per cent this year, from 28.3 per cent in 2002. One percentage point represents about 15,000 vehicles.
GM, which still leads in every province, has lost market share in each one during the five-year period. Chrysler has also dropped its retail share in every province, while Ford has slipped in six of them.
Meanwhile, the data indicates Toyota's share, including its Lexus luxury brand, has climbed to 13.7 per cent nationally from 10 per cent. It has passed DaimlerChrysler, Ford and Honda since 2002.
Toyota has gained at least two percentage points in market share in every province and more than four in Quebec, Manitoba and Newfoundland.
Honda has increased market share in six provinces while Mazda has improved in seven.
But in British Columbia, Toyota is within striking distance of GM for the first time in retail registrations.
GM's sales have slid to 11,838, or 17.5 per cent, of the province's market in the first half of this year from 13,952, or 22.7 per cent, in the same 2002 period.
In contrast, Toyota's retail business has climbed to 10,287, or 15.2 per cent, of the province's market from 7,399, or 12 per cent, in the same periods. Mirroring the national shift, Toyota has also passed Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Honda to become the second-biggest auto retail seller in the province.
Stephen Beatty, managing director of Toyota Canada Inc., said B.C. consumers are particularly sensitive to environmental and lifestyle issues, and the company's products address those needs.
Beatty also said Toyota prefers to focus on continuing to challenge itself rather than to look at its rivals.
"If we started looking at this as a horse race, we would be taking our eyes off the fundamentals of our business."
In addition to its growth in B.C., Toyota has moved into second place in retail sales in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Although Honda has not gained as much as Toyota, it has passed Ford and DaimlerChrysler in retail registrations in B.C. and Quebec. Mazda has also overtaken Ford and DaimlerChrysler in Quebec.
In the key Ontario market, GM still has a hefty lead over its rivals, despite a decline. GM's first-half retail registrations have tumbled to 54,050, or a 25.4 per cent share, from 74,942, or 31 per cent, in the same 2002 period.
Toyota's retail sales have climbed to 27,796, or 13.1 per cent, from 24,074, or 10 per cent, in 2002.
Honda has also overtaken DaimlerChrysler in Ontario and is close to passing Ford in the province, according to the data.
While the Polk data from some provinces is surprising, recent statistics for U.S. state California are startling.
In the first half, Polk registration figures showed Toyota held 26.7 per cent of the state's retail market, far ahead of 14.4 per cent for GM, 9.9 per cent for Ford and 7.1 per cent for DaimlerChrysler. Honda had 14.1 per cent and is also close to passing GM there.
